Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Redemption; Unshed Tears ❯ Just Destruction ( Chapter 2 )

Redemption: Unshed Tears

Just Destruction

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Original Character. Eventual slash. Not very happy. Will eventually get better.

Might be long.

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Seifer woke up to a furious pounding on his bedroom door. He glared at the door from his bed without much intention to get up and answer it. But, whoever intruded on his silence at this early hour would not be so easily deterred. Seifer began to wonder why it was he decided to take this job. Sure-it was in Balamb Garden where he could rub his success into the faces of all those assholes who told him he'd never succeed but… He wasn't so interested in having the blond formerly known as 'chicken-wuss' as a boss. Though, technically it was the former 'Trepe' that was his boss, not Zell. Plus there was the other side-effect. He got paid a hell of a lot less. But it was teaching, and in the end that was all that really mattered.

He stood up-as Zell absolutely refused to be deterred-and stalked over to open the door. He wore dark gray sweatpants (without those annoying elastic cuffs on the bottom,) but no shirt. Zell's fist was raised to knock on his door as he opened it, and inadvertently the blond fell in on him. Seifer pushed him off and stepped back to allow the Commander entrance to his small room. Zell looked at his bookshelves and clucked his tongue. Within his tiny dorm he housed the entire collection of literature about his subject-status effecting magic and mind control.

"I just came to warn you," Zell said. He scratched the back of his head as he stared around the room. He was awkward and it annoyed Seifer. If the whole world could accept him why couldn't this little prick?

"About what?"

Zell glared at him. He didn't trust him. In fact, when Quistis hired Seifer, Zell had protested loudly-and continuously. "You're going to have a new student today."

"I started teaching two days ago, Dincht, they're all new students to me." He stepped past the short blond and found his closet through the maze of books.

"A student that wasn't previously signed up for you class…but she already passed her final exam for her other class so Quistis signed her up for you class."

"Are you warning me because she's an anally-retentive genius?" Seifer asked. He rummaged through his closet until the appropriate clothing could be found. He wasn't a SeeD, and he now that he had a mind of his own, he never wanted to be one. Thus, he got to choose his own clothing instead of relying on the previously stated dress requirement.

"I'm warning you because she's seven years old," Zell said.

Seifer stepped out of the closet. He stared. "What?"

"She's a Sorceress."

"That's ridiculous. The only last Sorceress was Rinoa and she's…" Seifer stopped. He had no idea what happened to her. He had failed to keep up with the old family after the war. They really hadn't been important to his eventual success.

"Dead. Her daughter, Gale, was her successor. This little girl has been a Sorceress since she was six months old. Her powers used to be benign enough to be controlled, but they seem to be getting stronger and she doesn't bother to control them. She has a quick temper."

"Why is she in my class?"

"So you can teach her something useful." Zell shifted from foot to foot, obviously neglecting to say something.

"How long have you been the Commander?" Seifer asked. When he'd been asked back, he found it odd that Squall wasn't the Commander-after all he was the boy who saved the world.

"Seven years."

"Where's Squall?" Seifer asked.

"We don't know. Gale says that he's still alive, but she hasn't told us if she knows where he is. She hates him anyway."

"That bastard. He just left his own daughter?"

Zell shrugged. "I guess so. Wait until you see her, Seifer. You'll understand why I came to warn you." Then he turned and walked out of the room.

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The class was filled with upperclassmen Cadets; there were even a few SeeDs taking advantage of the new course to learn defense against status attacks. He looked around the room with a sense of gratification-he'd come full circle, from sitting in this hot classroom to standing before it as a teacher.

He didn't know any of them, but most of them remembered him from their days as impressionable little children, which was fine. If they were a little intimidated by him it served to make them behave better. Seifer stood at the head of the classroom, waiting for the rest of his class to file in quietly and take a seat. Most teachers in this Garden used the fancy electronics and made the children stare at their study panels all day-but that would do nothing to show them how to defend themselves in battle.

The class fell quiet. They stared at him still-even after three days-and pondered the wonder of their situation. He ignored the flabbergasted expressions and relished in the young minds that were just begging him for something of use.

Their schedules were filled with theory classes, and anatomy of monsters and other worthless classes that ultimately taught them nothing.

Then the quiet was disrupted by the door slamming open. Seifer turned to look at the little girl that stood in the door way. She glared back at him evenly and blew the bangs out of her eyes. Her hair was several different layers-making it stick out from all angles of her head; it was pitch black with random strands of chocolate brown. She was tall-lithe-and stood with one hand on her hip. Her pants were black and she wore a white shirt with a long black overcoat. She glared at him with her father's eyes and then moved to sit in the remaining seat.

Seifer gaped. Now, he was astounded. The class shifted uneasily and murmured rumors amongst themselves. Seifer ignored it. They were all stupid. The little girl-Gale-leaned forward in her seat and looked at him, not attentive, simply a mocking gesture of interest as she glared at him with obvious superiority.

Seifer ignored her and started his lecture. First, he must explain what they would be doing for the next few weeks and then they would begin to practice the techniques he would teach.

"That's stupid," Gale interrupted. She'd been sitting quietly for nearly a full half-hour when she finally opened her mouth. He was in the middle of explaining the simple process of undoing a loose mind control spell.

"Really?" Seifer asked. He leaned back against the desk. She stood up on her seat and stepped onto the study panel.

"Yes. If something strong enough to control your mind takes a hold, you're not going to be able to undo it on your own. You make it sound as simple as drinking potion. It's not that easy."

"You have personal experience with it then?" Seifer asked. The class drew in a breath and waited.

Gale frowned-Hyne, she looked like Squall-and then stomped her foot impatiently. She snapped her head to the left and another student stood up. His eyes were blank and he swayed on his feet uncertainly. "Dance," she said. He began to shake and stomp his feet, his arms waved in the air without any real direction.

Seifer sighed. He nodded at the young Cadet and the boy fell back. He sat up, dazed, but in complete control of his own faculties. "Class is dismissed for the day," Seifer said to the others.

Gale stood completely still and glared at him. The others ran out of the room, afraid of what she could do to them. "You don't have a junction," Gale said, "How did you do that?"

"You'll need to be comfortable, you're going to have detention in her for a long time," Seifer said.

"You can't do that to me, you damn prick," she hissed. She stomped her foot again, in aggravation.

"Can't I? Demerits for language."

She sucked in an incredulous breath and kicked the screen of the study panel, causing it to crack open. Simultaneously, fire burst on Seifer's desk and ate the papers lying there unattended.

"Congratulations. You can destroy."

"What would you know?" she demanded.

"I know that you're headed down the wrong path. You like it don't you?"

Gale crossed her arms over her chest. She crunched the broken glass under her shoe and waited. "What?"

"Their fear. It gives you a rush."

She turned her gaze away from him, towards the fire that burned across his desk. It was a living entity now-completely separate from the angry child that had created it. "What would you know?"

"More than you," he returned.

She jumped off the study panel and stormed passed him towards the door, "fuck you," she said as she passed. He grabbed her arm before she could make it to the open door. She screamed and fire burst out over the desks and floor. Lightening rolled outside and the windows shook with the force of thunder.

"You can destroy," he repeated, "But can you create anything? Can you put out these fires?"

She glared at him, her skin was growing hotter by the second as her inherent defenses took control. His grip on her arm didn't falter. He returned her gaze easily, completely unintimidated by the gray eyes that sought to destroy his resolve.

"You're going to pay for this," she hissed, "They're going to fire you."

"Are they?" Seifer pulled her farther away from door-into the flaming room and up the aisle to where she had been sitting. Fire licked at her clothes and hair and she hissed in aggravation. He forced her to sit in the bench she had defaced. "I said you have detention. Put out the fires, Gale."

She glared at him. He returned the glare.

She looked down at her shoes. "I can't."

Then all at once the roaring heat and crackling was gone. Gale raised her eyes to look around the room and found it completely…clean. There was no sign of a disturbance at all. She looked at him incredulously. "You aren't junctioned,"

she hissed.

He walked away from her.

"That's not possible," she continued.

He stood in front of his desk and looked at her with calm green eyes.

"There are no such things as male sorcerers."

Then the door opened and Zell, Quistis, Irvine and half the Garden's SeeD's burst in to find nothing.

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Lalala…

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